Local Foreigner
by Tangiers
Summary: During the wedding of Star and Marco, Mewni is invaded and put under dictatorship - Star is exiled and her unborn child is murdered. Schooled in St O's, she forges friendships, as she needs their kingdoms on their side to finally challenge Mewni's dictator. But someone else is fighting for her throne, aided by an ancient danger: a witch. [STARCO] *Updates coming... soon?
1. STAR & MARCO : THEIR UNION

**Marco &amp; Star are already married, and Star is pregnant with a son/daughter - that is, until something goes wrong.  
Note: The characters could seem slightly OOC, but I like to think after spending some time with Marco Star would become much more mature - as she is also the Queen of Mewni, and thus must run her country wisely.**

**.**

**.**

They were just about to eat their food, when the doors burst open - and the cold air rushed in, sheltering the entire room in its grasp. The cold gripped Star's arms, biting into her exposed flesh as she shivered.

Marco stood to his feet and turned to the gatecrashers - each wearing masks, except one woman - there was a gash, a distinct one, running from her eye to the tip of her lip - he couldn't help but fix his eyes onto it.

Then Star drew her wand and gripped it tightly, preparing for any attack - any movement. The room was hushed as the woman led her people further in, the Masked Men, or women. She was unsure currently, and cleared her throat.

"Her Grace?" The woman asked, barely acknowledging Marco - as Star blinked at her, her arm relaxing with her fingers slackening their grip on the wand.

"I... invited the whole of Mewni. You must be latecomers," Star said, making large gestures at the crowd to part ways on the bench, "sit down and make yourself comfortable. We were simply in the middle of a feast."

Star was attempting to be friendly, until the woman wordlessly nodded at the Masked Men, and began speaking in a tongue she'd never heard. The words dripped off her tongue, their meanings sour and sterner than her tone.

Any trace of a smile on Star's face was gone as the guests disappeared, and were replaced by the Masked Men, all sat in the stands with their hands at their sides, each pair of eyes focussed on the woman.

"We needed plenty of room," she says darkly, turning to Star, "hopefully you don't mind."

Marco suddenly approached Star, standing next to her as he saw her arm twitch - trying to convince her not to lift the wand from her arm, simply giving her a _look_ to keep her under control.

"Be seated like the rest - then go and collect food." Marco said, attempting to remain polite towards the woman, who shook her head.

"We're not hungry." She says, suddenly clicking her fingers - the air wafted around lazily, speeding up as each one of the Men jumped up from the stands, tumbling into the main section of the wedding.

As Star detached her wand from her hands, she aimed it at the first Man she saw, only to be intercepted by another Man, tackling her until she collapsed in the stands, bleeding from her lips uncontrollably.

Marco desperately tried to fight them off, drawing out a sword and lopping off heads where he could - but soon it was too late, as he heard Star's scream. The woman walked over to the front, where _his_ throne was.

And she sat down on it, tilting slightly - as if she had been born onto the throne - Marco was only slightly infuriated, as he heard Star cry out again.

Star, lying in the stands, was being circled by two of the warriors - one brought out a small dagger, and the other gripped her hair, pulling at it until her eyes watered with tears. They dragged her down the stairs at the side by her hair.

Then they threw her in front of the woman by the throne, as the other Men encircled Marco, closing in on him - and blocking Star from his view effectively - all he could see was their heavy, black cloaks flapping in the wind - and hear Star crying in pain.

The woman, sat in the throne, nodded at the Men, who viciously began to attack Star, landing kicks and punches wherever they could - the wedding was a mess, with the tables overturned and the food splattered all over the floor.

Star attempted crawling away as one of them produced a shiny, gleaming object that caught the light of the Mewni sun - and screamed bloody murder, until a dirty hand was clamped over her mouth.

Her eyes boggled as the dagger was thrust repeatedly into her stomach, blood oozing from the site of injury. It guided its way into her with ease after the first two stabs, gliding in and out, red, shiny, and wet from her blood.

Tears flowed from her eyes, and began mixing into the blood, staining her white dress - they had murdered her child - of all people, her child. She fell to the ground, a sharp pain shooting through her stomach, and began heaving.

Guiding her hands down her face, she clawed her face and screamed in front of the woman, her anguish uneased by it - blood streamed down her face, her nails raking the flesh - but she barely felt the pain of it - and continued sobbing.

They took the dagger out, that wasn't too deep inside her, and one of the Men looming over her grinned, exposing his yellow teeth - as the woman from the stands stood and held her hand up, telling them to stop.

Both of them turn back to her and step away from Star, who continues kneeling at her feet, cupping her stomach, as she continues weeping uncontrollably. The woman tutted and kissed her teeth, gesturing for them to hit her.

Whereas Marco was still fighting strong, and ended up between three of them now, he tried peering through the gaps in the men for Star, but all he saw was a puddle of blood, and was suddenly furious with them.

He violently swiped the air, his fists catching one of the Men on his nose, shattering it, as blood spurted from the wound - and tackled him to the ground, the image of the blood spread out on the floor still in his mind.

"Stop!" He screamed, grabbing the Man's dagger and plunging it into his chest - the Man's lifeless eyes glazed over, and he held Marco's gaze for a second, before his lips twitched, almost mimicking a smile.

He continued stabbing him in a rage.

_Where is your queen to save you now?  
Did she pay you silver and gold?  
Is my child worth no more than silver and gold?  
__**WHERE IS YOUR QUEEN TO SAVE YOU NOW? DID SHE PAY YOU SILVER AND GOLD? IS MY CHILD WORTH NO MORE THAN SILVER AND GOLD? WHERE IS YOUR QUEEN TO SAVE YOU NOW? DID SHE PAY YOU SILVER AND GOLD - IS MY CHILD WORTH NO MORE THAN SILVER AND GOLD? WHERE IS YOUR QUEEN TO SAVE YOU NOW? DID SHE PAY YOU SILVER AND GOLD - IS MY CHILD WORTH NO MORE THAN SILVER AND GOLD? WHERE IS YOUR QUEEN-**_

His thoughts were interrupted as the two Men suddenly grabbed him - one held his arms, the other held a knife to his throat and shouted out intelligible words - despite the woman herself looking to them, almost ready to tell them to stop.

He saw Star crouching by the woman and other Men, clutching her stomach, as her eyes locked with Marco's. She shook her head slowly at him, and pressed her palm onto her bleeding stomach, only for the men to strike her over the head.

She collapsed to the floor, most likely dead, he thought, as they led her away to the coastline - most likely to dump her body in the sea. He was horrified that this was their end - and more horrified by their separation.

He scrabbled and floundered under the grasp of the Men, who held him tightly and dragged him, as he tried to keep his feet in place towards the woman, who nodded off Star, still unconscious on the little mat they'd placed her on.

"Not so honourable a death, is it?"

Marco glared at her. "Doesn't matter now that you killed my wife." He choked on the word 'wife,' and held her gaze as steadily as he could manage. He loved her more than life itself, and she was easily gone.

"And my child."

"It _is_ unfortunate that you two happened to be star-crossed lovers. But don't you understand, Marco? She's _magical_. You're a mortal. You simply weren't meant to be."

He could barely choke out his words as he began sobbing, his tears splashing onto the floor below him - as his final signs of emotion, before his feelings became brittle, and controlled.

"Besides Marco, _everybody dies_." She finishes, making a brief gesture to one of the Men.

"Mewni will survive without you." He quietly says, before inserting the knife into Marco's chest, likely piercing a lung.

Blood splashes over his dry lips, and he doesn't try to accept the fate befalling him, before the knife ends up _everywhere_, and all his punctured points leave him lying on the ground limply, his rounded eyes rounder with shock.

He can't speak, but look, lying down on the ground in pain - as he turns his head weakly to look at the woman, and tries to move his tongue, speak, anything. But nothing comes out - just intelligible gibberish.

"Cat got your tongue?" She teases, as she nods at the Men to lead her out, leaving Marco alone.

And dead.

**.**

**.  
R &amp; R! I want to know if this is worth continuing. Criticism welcome, as long as it isn't "u killed marko ur righting sux!11!" or flame. **

**~Tangiers**


	2. STAR : Faux Amis

**Thank you for all your reviews - I've chosen to continue the story, and start navigating some of the plot. Starco will still be shipped, just not for a bit in this story.**

**.  
.**

Something flickered behind her eyes - until she blinked, and cleared her vision - but nobody said a word to her - instead, she stood up from the boat and blinked, waiting for someone to talk, use words for her. But there was silence - apart from the calling of birds.

"Ma'am?" A man glanced over at the wand in her hand, and kept his eyes on it - as Star continued rubbing her head, finally out of the wooden boat. _So they didn't kill me. Instead, they shipped me somewhere else._

He looked at the wand once more, his eyes glittering at the sight of it.

"…Yes?" She quietly squeaked, pressing a hand to her stomach - only for her to discover it was flat once again, and the blood smeared over her wedding dress had vanished. Who had that woman been, and what grudge did she hold against her?

Glancing over at him, she saw that he seemed interested in the wand she gripped ever so tightly in her right hand, and her jaw clenched, as she expected combat to follow. This time, she would be ready for it.

"Are you… Star Butterfly?" He asks, curiously.

Star considers this - balancing the weight in telling the truth, or lying. But lying was never really a part of her anyway. People said she was rather honest.

"I am."

Without warning, he grabbed her arm and tossed her into the boat, climbing on top of her - crushing her underneath his weight. She realised that despite his slim figure, he was still a heavy man, and was desperately trying to push him off her.

Screaming, he slapped her face and forced his hand down on her mouth, before gesturing to the empty bushes beside the pair - as more men enclosed Star, her eyes widened in horror. They seemed to circle her like sharks, each one of them bringing out a different weapon.

One climbed into the boat and flicked out his small dagger, applying force to her throat - he didn't slash out, but his shaking hands against Star's now red neck was suggestively close, and she knew there was no need risking it.

"Well, young lady." he began, suddenly putting the knife away, but grabbed her hands and bound them with a coil of rope, pushing her onto her back, as to render her useless.

Looming over her, he continued speaking. "St. Olga's is just around the corner for you… though you don't look much a princess." He seemed confused about her attire, as it was rather basic, not a dress, but shirt and trousers.

Star suddenly inspects what she's wearing, and gasps as she sees her wedding dress had been stripped off her body, but doesn't object to the men suggesting she went to reform school.

All Star wanted was a hot bath and early bedtime. Of course, Pony Head was also there - providing she, unlike the men, would actually recognise the Queen of Mewni.

The boat started moving, and the men surrounding her began to row, forcing her head down to avoid the blonde being spotted. It didn't matter much to Star if she was located or not, as she had lost her family - all her family.

Her death just seemed to be waiting for her, a shadow that kept missing each throw it threw at her. She was unsure whether she was furious or pleased about it.

**.**

**St Olga's, Freelands, ?**

Star stood outside the heavy, metal gates, her eyes flicking to the two men accompanying her. They gently touched the doorbell, and a loud noise rang through the entire building, its echo an eerie sound in the rather silent afternoon.

Even though it was afternoon, the sky around St Olga's seemed rather dark, outlined by a blackening sky - as if it had been burnt by flames. Of course, nobody other than Star seemed to noticed the bizarre atmosphere she was surrounded by.

A tall, thin, featureless woman, accompanied by a smaller, squattier woman glanced over at Star in disapproval, her eyes shining as she saw the clothing Star had arrived in. Her voice was much worse, Star thought, as she spoke.

"And _who_ might this be?" She asked, sounding similar to Ludo - her voice was scratchy, and she seemed to anxiously lick her lips every minute or so, whereas the smaller lady began smiling at Star - but her eyes didn't quite light up.

As if her face were a mask, and her eyes were the only legitimate object placed onto it.

"Star Butterfly, from the lands of Bodos." He responds, bowing his head at the thin woman - the other woman seemed indifferent, and was too busy examining Star with her eyes.

Star only just realised how messy she looked - her hair was shaggy and knotted, her clothes were baggy and ill-fitting, and her feet was stuffed into some black, leather boots that didn't quite go with what she had 'chosen' to wear.

"Bodos has always been a troubled land." The woman responds, hitching up her sleeves that seemed to roll down her stick-like arms each second. "We'll do our very best with her." She concludes, beckoning Star into the gates.

Her eyes were forlorn and droopy, slowly misting with tears at the recollection of the death of Mewni. Without her, she felt like Mewni was incomplete - almost like the horse without the saddle, or the duck without the waddle.

Sighing, she stepped through the gates and watched as they slammed shut behind her, releasing a _CLUNK_ as they slammed shut.

Soon, she found the woman moved abnormally quickly, as she attempted to keep up with her pace, even swinging her arms and concentrating on the space in front of her - but the woman remained in front of her.

The other woman, however, was the fastest of them all - she sped ahead of both Star and the other thin lady, shocking Star, who could barely keep up with the first woman. They finally stopped in front of a door.

It was a plain door, stainless with the sound of idle chatter coming from it - all the thin woman had to do was clear her throat, and the talking inside ceased. There was even a faint clicking sound, and it was likely a light had been turned off.

As she entered the room, she swept her eyes around it - and soon found a spare bed, with at least three pairs of eyes on her, all scorning her clothes. Only one of the pairs of eyes wasn't on her - and said girl was sat on her bed, quietly reading.

The thin woman entered the room right after her, having let her go before her - and the entire room broke into chorus.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Olga." They all spoke at the same time, and she seemed to nod in approval at the concept of this.

The fat woman soon followed, waddling on her feet in the same way Star had seen a duck - it struggled to carry its own weight it the same way.

Nobody greeted her, but instead she brought out some files and started speaking to the girl sat on her bed, reading, who seemed to lack interest in the subject they were discussing. Star could practically see the boredom in her eyes.

"Um… hello everyone, I'm Star… Butterfly, and-"

She was cut off by Ms. Olga, who turned to face the girls with her ever abrasive voice. "This is Princess Star, from Bodos. She's new here, and I'm sure you'll all show her the ropes here."

One of the girls giggled, only to be silenced by an icy look from Ms. Olga.

"I assure you, Star, we don't condone bullying here," she murmured to her, "and if you ever have any problems with these girls, please don't hesitate to speak to us."

Her tone seemed insincere, but Star decided to take her word for it. Ms. Olga suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, and the fat lady continued speaking to the other girl in the bunk, before spinning on her heel, smiling warmly at Star.

"Ah, Princess Star. Your bed's here, and it appears your parents have already sent your suitcase."

_That woman._ Star quietly thought to herself, as she walked towards her suitcase, nodding at the woman. She began unzipping it, and surely enough, found her old Mewni clothes - so why was she in this sort of nonsense?

"Have a good afternoon." She quietly tells her, before also waddling out of the room. As soon as she left, Star dug through her suitcase excitedly, her thoughts off her wedding for just a few moments as she found her favourite dress.

"That's a nice dress." One of the girls from the bunk beds pointed at Star's dress, and they all muttered in agreement - she could barely make out their words, but beamed at their kindness nonetheless.

"Thanks. I like your shirt." Star said to her in response, as she dug further through her suitcase.

"Oh. I'm so rude, aren't I?" She scolded herself a little. "I'm Calliope."

The girl who had been speaking with the overweight lady glanced at Star briefly from her book, quietly adding: "I'm Ophelia."

Star quietly took in what she could of their personalities.

The other girls also looked to Star, smiling with some genuine kindness in their eyes, much to her relief. "I'm Giselle." The girl said rather quickly, playing with a lock of her hair.

"Oh… er… I'm Adeline."

Star's gaze shifted to the last girl, who seemed rather anxious. She didn't say a word, but spelt out her name in sign language to Star.

"R…O…S…A…L…I…N…A. Rosalina." Star repeats after spelling it out. She chose not to question that the girl was supposedly mute, but nodded at her kindly, before turning back to her suitcase.

She paused, mid-dig through her suitcase, and accidentally repeated herself. "I'm Star-and of course, you've been told that _twice_ already. Sorry." She grinned sheepishly and turned back to her suitcase.

All the others appeared to be doing something - Rosalina was sketching, Adeline was chatting with Giselle, and Ophelia was engrossed in a book. Calliope seemed to be flicking through a spell book, sneaking the occasional gaze at Star's clothes.

Star's breath caught in her throat, as she found a note pinned to one of her dresses - in the middle of her suitcase. Surely, she could have missed it - it was sandwiched between two other pieces of clothing.

Detaching the note from her dress, she was about to unfold it - when she realised Calliope was glancing over at it, her eyes glowing with curiosity. Greed for secrets, really, that Star wasn't ready to spill yet.

"My parents sent me a note."

_"Seemed rather surprised about it."_ Calliope murmured under her breath, before turning back to her book of spells, pretending to read it.

Luckily, Star didn't look too closely, and didn't identify it as being upside down, before Calliope quickly fixed it upright.

Unfolding the note, Star flopped onto her bed and began to read through the note - which she noticed was written in rather neat, loopy writing, similar to her mother's handwriting.

And for a second she wondered…

No. It was obviously the uninvited guest at her party.

_Dear Star,  
I heard you were rather upset about Marco's death, at his own wedding. We intend to keep his head on display in front of the castle - consider us gracious for exiling you. Remember your dead baby? We extracted them from your body, and to put it simply: what's being put on the dinner table tonight is absolutely delicious. Unless you want the same fate as them, stay in St Olga's, and follow our commands. Tread lightly. I can easily be infuriated._

Star exhaled deeply, before folding the note up. They _ate_ her baby. That was the last straw for her - she needed these girls on her side, their _kingdoms_ on her side. She was taking back Mewni by storm.

Her grip on her wand became tighter, as her fury increased - how much more would she be able to tolerate.

**.  
.**

**Thank you for reading this chapter. I'll be updating as much as possible. R &amp; R! **


	3. STAR : STAR WHO?

**You're all wonderful, thank you for taking your time to read my story, and a special thank you to all my reviewers. I can't thank any of my readers enough - but if you have any suggestions, feel free to tell me.**

**.**

**.**

Consulting her paper, Star kept her eyes glued to it as she shuffled across the long corridors of St. Olga's. Like the room, they were white, primped and starched, as if someone passed over the walls of the corridor with an iron each day.

Finally working out the week and the class she had, Star's eyes glinted in interest as they stopped on the words _Self Defence_. An eyebrow raised, she folded the paper up and zipped her bag, feeling it jog up and down on her body as she sprinted for the west corridor.

Coming to a halt, Star's feet screech on the ground as she pauses in front of the large, varnished door - adoring it for a few minutes, she pushes it open and steps into the room.

The girls are neatly in a line as Ms. Olga waits with her arms folded over her chest. Her eyes locking into Star's, Star awkwardly steps into the hushed room's line, falling behind Calliope.

Once she was lined up, and Ms. Olga had stopped glaring, the room erupted into a few murmurs as the other scholars began to mill about, only to stop once more as soon as they formed a horizontal line.

"Welcome to your self-defence class, girls. As we have a new student, to avoid her lacking a partner, for the next few weeks, I shall select your partners." Ms. Olga announced, receiving some groans from the girls in the horizontal lines.

"Enough of that," Ms. Olga commanded, waving her hands quickly, in a surprisingly fast formation, which silenced everyone's muttering and chattering. "Calliope, you'll be with Ophelia."

Star caught the girl's eyes flicker over to Ophelia, who appeared to be studying and inspecting the floor closely, and something seemed to appear in Calliope's eyes, misting them over for a brief moment - before they suddenly returned to normal.

Listening into the other pairs being called out, she was surprised when she heard her name - with Giselle, who was smiling at her in a warm fashion. Thinking to herself, she stepped forward and carefully curtseyed, as Giselle mirrored her.

"So, what do you… do?" Star questioned curiously.

Giselle grinned excitedly. "I'm from Pyros. So naturally, the land is teeming with all sorts of dangerous things. If one were to sneak up on you…"

Giselle's hands seemed to twitch as Star gasped, seeing them fly out in front of her eyes, so close they blurred her vision. For a second, flame blazed from her fingers, and she could smell something burning to ashes.

A fiery figure, at least six feet in height, floated onto the ground neatly, clutching an axe formed entirely from fire - then more flames spilled into the ground, spawning multiple creatures.

"Wow," began Star, who saw the group of creatures meekly stand behind Giselle, "do they attack for you?"

"Of course," she continued forming more creatures, before speaking in a tongue that sounded like gibberish to Star, who simply cocked her head in confusion.

The monsters, hearing the tone of her voice, surrounded her, only to step back and form a line, as she barked orders at them in the same language as before.

"As I was saying, if one were to sneak up on you, you'd have to be prepared. So, d'you want me to demonstrate, or…?"

"I… want to try. Test myself with them, I mean." Star completed her sentence, bubbling with excitement as she brought out her wand, that seemed to be flashing red rather slowly, and inconsistently - but as soon as she clicked it, it emitted a burst of light.

The light made Giselle shield her eyes from what was attacking them, as Star grinned, revealing nothing was there - just her wand, yet the fire figures had cowered away behind Giselle, despite Star being nowhere near finished.

"Tell them to fight," Star gabbled excitedly, unaware of how cocky she sounded, "I want to see them fight."

Speaking again in the tongue, the fire figures danced forward on their light feet, and launched themselves at Star, pounding on her.

Star collapsed to the ground underneath their weight, covered in burn marks.

Just as Giselle was ready to summon them back to her, they suddenly all were blown across the room, off Star, who stood up, her hair straggled and her clothes covered in scorch marks. But her wand remained in her hand, as she began shouting spells.

One of the spells formed a serpent from water, which writhed on the ground, slowly approaching the first two figures Giselle had formed - and once it reached them, it slowly, lazily, made its way up the first figure's body.

Stopping at their neck, having extinguished some of it, it wrapped itself around its body and began to choke the life out of the fire - which coughed and spluttered, as Star called out another spell for the others.

A small blue pit opened and began to suck them into it, swirling the way the water in a toilet did. The sky blue abyss sucked all the life from them, leaving piles of ash on the ground, which Giselle ended up waving her hands at.

The ashes regenerated themselves and turned back to their fire counterparts, but were sucked back into her fingers - now, she was counting on her last one, which was taken by the serpent - that suddenly gave her an idea.

"Conquay." She says, her command quiet in the room that had suddenly stopped fighting to witness what was essentially, the new girl beating Giselle, an old girl.

As soon as she spoke the word, the fire figure stopped struggling, and seemed to belch flame at the serpent, which was destroyed in a single touch from the flame - free from its grasp, the flame figure cartwheeled over to Giselle.

Stopping by her, it turned to Star and seemed to stare into her eyes - which Star struggled to accept, as she felt the life drain from her serpent - that was just a puddle of water on the ground, nothing more to her now.

"You win." Star says, sadly.

"But you put up an amazing fight. You _have_ to teach me that water abyss and blue serpent spell. So I can make fire equivalents." Giselle was gushing from the intensity of the fight, and stretched her hand out for Star.

Star took her hand and shook it happily, accepting.

The girls surrounded them now, including Ms. Olga, who wordlessly nodded at Giselle and Star. "You've both impressed me, today." Ms. Olga's voice boomed across the room, and the girls all listened, spellbound.

"In true fact, you've both shown great skill and sportsmanship. As had Calliope and Ophelia." She continued, waving over to the two, now blushing girls, who shared a smile. Something changed in Ophelia's eyes.

They seemed to glow with a light - but Star pretended not to see it, to avoid acknowledging it, instead continuing to listen to Ms. Olga.

Ms. Olga thought carefully about what to say next - as she had quite liked the way they had fought, she was thinking of rewards to establish this.

But as soon as she opened her mouth to speak, the fat lady burst in without knocking, much to her distaste - it left a foul feeling in her mind.

"Helena!" She scolded harshly, only for Helena to pitch forward and collapse onto the ground, leading Olga to rush forward towards her and feel for a hole, or shiny blood on her - but there was nothing to be seen.

"Adeline!" She called out, her voice clapping like thunder as it bounced around the room. "Fetch Nurse Summers."

Adeline instantly made her way to the door, only to be sent back by the door slamming open, falling from its hinges, and bombs raining down on the weakened building. Within seconds, the once pristine and incarnate St. Olga's was being invaded.

The army eventually stopped as one bomb detonated, destroying more of the building - the bombs had been strategically placed, to the point where it was unlikely to harm anyone.

Then Olga saw the blue coats of the uniform, and swept her staff from under her jacket, before yelling at the girls to get in attack formation. Of course, Star had little idea how it worked and ended up following Giselle.

"We intend no harm for you, Olga," the tallest man, in a silver coat, as opposed to the other blue ones, started to say, "but rather that this is simply a warning."

"Warning of what?" Olga still didn't lower her staff, keeping the aim locked on the man, preparing for any attack - her tone remained steely as ever, as the men had just stepped around the unconscious Helena.

"Bodos is not a troubled land - and the king and queen have little quarrel with their child."

"Then why send their princess here?" Olga suddenly let her guard down, as her arms grew limp from confusion.

"What do you mean? The King and Queen of Bodos are childless."


	4. STAR & GILLY : Mortem

"What?" Olga's gaze shifted from the man to Star, the look in her eyes questioning as she tried to work out what on earth had just happened. Star wasn't… the princess of Bodos? Her confusion rose above all limitations.

"Then who are you?" She asks, blinking at Star, whose mouth is just hanging open from surprise - she thought everyone had forgotten about her in their moment of ignorance, but clearly that wasn't the case.

_Memory erasing spell, think Star, think!_

Star was wracking her brain for any spells to reverse what had just happened, but her mind was remaining a blank slate for her. Continuing to think, she glanced over at Olga, finally meeting the… disappointment in her eyes.

It melted away after a minute or so, and Star's hands limply fell to her sides, her entire body beginning to droop. Her face seemed to tighten and contort in pain, as she finally opened her mouth to speak.

"…" Nothing came out, her lips squeezing together - all that was heard was a clicking sound from her mouth, before everyone, even Giselle, finally looked at her in disgust.

Her words dissolved on her tongue, as she tapped her wand against her ear gently, feeling a small amount of pain as it hit the larger part of her ear.

"Well then, who are you? I asked a simple question, I expect an answer." Olga repeated, almost coolly.

"I'm... it's…"

"It's what? Complicated?"

_You could say that_, Star thought to herself sadly, as her mind flashed back to the wedding, _her_ wedding and dead husband.

.

.

.

**Mortem Caves, Mortem**

"Arise." They quietly said to them, as the body leapt from the rock, standing to attention. They undid the bandages and turned to look at the person's puncture wounds, the blood that had once been on their clothing, all gone already.

Their skin had taken the colour of milk, and it seemed to have paled - but some areas were yellow and discoloured, and the sour smell radiating off them was more than foul. She sighed sadly, as she pulled them closer.

"Gilly?" They suddenly ask, recalling the name of the same witch they had spoken to before - until she spoke and interrupted their thoughts.

"You look disgusting. There must be some spell for this."

Unfortunately, they didn't even answer them - whether their name was Gilly, or Milly, or…

Their eyes were sunken and expressionless, but hurt seemed to flicker in them as she snipped a lock of hair from their head, and watched the lock of hair become white and brittle. It snapped in her fingers, and dropped to the ground.

"Flaws in magic, I suppose." She continued conversing, bringing out a small pocket knife. Angling it, she took aim at their arm and slashed downwards, slicing some of their arm. From the elbow, a thin streak of blood could be seen.

They hissed aggressively as she set the knife down, dipping her finger in their blood. Then she sampled it - popping her finger into her mouth, with her other hand, she gestured over their elbow, which healed itself automatically.

"Ow…" A word finally came from their mouth. It was a low moan, one similar to that of an animal in pain.

"Sorry. I need your blood anyway."

"For tasting?"

"Magic's weird." She responded, smacking her lips - his blood had a sweet taste to it.

"I can fix your skin… but…" She gripped the same knife, snatching it from the counter, and swiped violently. A line, straight enough to be drawn with a ruler, appeared on his arm - she swathed him in clothing afterwards, concealing it.

"Follow me." She commands, and he follows, his movements less stiff than they were on the day of the wedding. He was dragging his feet.

He cocked his head at her - unsure whether to balance out the results - as he'd witnessed magic, he had little clue of how many people practiced it, or the risks of trusting a witch.

"Gilly?" He repeats.

"Yes," she rolls her eyes, "Gilly. Me Gilly, you Marco."

Marco was still slow in movement, shuffling and walking.

"Marco! Hurry up!" Gilly turned back to him, and saw how he was shuffling, snapping her fingers with more urgency. "Before anyone sees us."

They navigate out of the cave, and Marco pondered over whether he'd ever see Star again. He wasn't even sure if she was still alive.

.

.

.**  
St. Olga's, Freelands, ?**

"I'm not Star Butterfly from Bodos." Star had to tell the truth, unfortunately - she'd tried so hard to be under control of herself, she'd detached from the thoughts of reality - or the chance they could… well, find her out.

It just seemed so unlikely. And how did Bodos know she was impersonating a non-existent princess? _Bodos really is the land of spies_, Star thought to herself in misery.

"Then stop stalling, and tell us who you are."

"Queen Star Butterfly… an exile from Mewni."

Olga's eyebrow cocked, and Calliope suddenly glanced up at her, interested. "Was that who the note was from? The person who exiled you?" Calliope grinned excitedly.

"I was married. At my wedding reception, they butchered my husband, stabbed me in the stomach… and then sent me here." Star began sobbing uncontrollably as she thought about the fact they had _eaten _her baby.

"The thing I grew inside me for months… just… gone." She was distant all of a sudden, her mind flashing to the joy of finding out she was a mother. The pride that had swelled in her abandoned her as soon as the blade…

She felt sick - the blood gleaming from the blade inserted into her stomach was disgustingly vivid. Then she acknowledged everyone staring at her, including Olga.

"Impersonating royalty from Bodos, in Bodos is punishable by death." The silver coat man suddenly announces.

Olga glares. "But we're not _in_ Bodos. Girls…" Her eyes were befuddled and muddled - she was confused, all of a sudden. "I…" Then she took out her staff and tapped it against the floor, sending a crash throughout the room.

All of the men staggered about and began wandering about, murmuring questions - they had forgotten where they were, and why they were there. The girls marvelled at the effortless display of magic from Olga.

"Girls… accompany these men to the door." The girls glanced at her with confused expressions, but she nodded them on anyway, watching as they respectfully held the doors open.

Leaving Star at the back of the line, she tried filing out with all of them. "Star. Stay here." Olga calls out sternly. Helena, still unconscious, was also dragged out of the room.

"You should be expelled, for sure," she began, sadness in her eyes, "as queens can't be educated here. However…"

"I need your help." Star gabbled anxiously. There was pity in Olga's eyes, something that made Star shrivel inside. She wasn't going to help her - she'd lied to her, and she'd-

"I know. You're no longer the queen though, are you?"

"I suppose not." She answers, wiping away her tears.

"So you may resume schooling here. A true princess can recover from her mistakes, no matter how big they are." Olga seems to try to convince herself this, whilst smiling - but the smile seemed false. Star didn't detect this.

"I… thank you. You're oddly forgiving." Star's hands fly to her mouth as she realises what she'd just said aloud.

"Not always." Olga straightens up, her response stiff and forced. "Now off to your room - you're in disgrace. Helena will deal with you once she wakes up."

In response, Star scampers out of the room gratefully.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Mortem, ?**

"I sold your crown," Gilly spoke with a casual tone, her voice light and airy. Marco stiffened in surprise, his eyes widening to look at her closely, study her to see if she was lying.

Then she reached into her pockets, and revealed a handful of coins, but as he set his eyes on her pockets, he saw they were bulging with excess coins. "Oh." His voice cracked.

"Why did you sell my crown?"  
"To get to Bodos - you've got a bone to pick with… er… the monarchs."

Something about Gilly's tone terrified Marco, but he kept his eyes focussed on her, his tone edged with steel. "Why?"

"They were involved in your-" Gilly was cut off as a man called for them to walk through - she spilled a handful of coins into the man's hands.

"Bodos," she says, dropping a few coins into his hands, as Marco followed after her, struggling to keep up with her rather fast movement.

The man yanked at the gates, and let them aboard the boat.

They navigated the boat - until they found two seats, tucked into the corner, seemingly isolated from the other members of the boat, that chattered loudly, effectively covering the sound of them speaking.

"Anyway, as I was saying…" Gilly began.

Marco nodded, gesturing for her to continue.

"They sent the Men, you know, the ones who killed your baby, and gave Valence the ability to carry out the wedding."

"Why would they…?"

"Punishment, since Star was meant to marry their prince. Hearts grew dark from anger - and yeah, they just had bad judgement."

Surprised with this new information, Marco blinked at her. "But she married me?"

"Yeah. Valence offered to do them justice."

_Valence._ His eyes suddenly showed him the same woman with the distinct scar running on her face, and her cold eyes - then the way she slumped in his seat, and finally Star rubbing her bloody stomach.

His jaw clenched, and he gritted his teeth. "Valence was the woman."

"Mm. So, as soon as we get to Bodos, I say we start a riot."

Marco grinned, his eyes taking a rather dark and devilish twinge to them.

"I like where you're going with this…"

**A/N: Wow, this took a while to do. (This chapter is also the reason I told you not to complain about character death). R &amp; R!**


	5. VALENCE & LUDO : LOVE POWER

**Bodos Town, Bodos**

There was a ringing sound of a bell, as the boat pulled into the dock, carrying both Gilly and Marco. They climbed off the boat, under the guise of tourists, stepping into the beauty that was Bodos Town, the capital of Bodos.

"Beautiful." Gilly says, grabbing Marco by the hand and dragging him to the fountain in the centre of the town. Their mismatch was apparent through their footwear - Marco's heavy boots tramped on the stone ground, whereas Gilly's light, flat shoes gently tapped the floor.

He grimaced at the sight of water, but allowed himself to be led to the fountain, where Gilly put her finger - outstretching it so the water poured out in torrents onto her hands. Marco curiously watched, unsure if her magic was at work.

"I _love_ water." Gilly says happily, her voice light.

"Thought witches were melted by water." Marco replied gruffly, folding his arms over his chest. Gilly rolled her eyes and held his arm, guiding it into the water, which at first seemed to scold Marco with its coldness.

"Ach. It hurts." He frowned.

"Just let it be." She whispers, aware of the strange looks the other tourists were giving them - and felt Marco's arm grow limp, allowing her to dip it further into the water.

His eyes seemed to roll back into his head in relief, his muscles no longer as tense and his arm hanging from her gentle grip. "Healing water?" He asks, his eyes half-opened and half-shut.

Gilly smiled briefly. "Riot water. Bodos isn't just the land of spies. It's also the land of water. If-"

"The land of water?" Marco, slightly confused, started gently tittering to himself, interrupting her.

Gilly took his hand out of the well and shook her head. "The land of water indeed. If we can make it look like the royals cut off the water supply for the commoners, there's sure to be a riot." She hisses the first part of the plot.

"Why does that help me?"

"So you can take over Bodos. If you take over Bodos, you get their armies and can advance on Mewni, and get your throne back."

"…"

"Besides, you want revenge, don't you?"

Marco gritted his teeth, Valence dancing around his mind again. "I suppose so. But what about you? You deserve some… er… compensation for your help." His gruff tone was gone, replaced by a softer one.

"And… I don't want to rule by myself. Star and my child are-"

"Your child's dead. Not Star." Her tone seemed to lack emotion, and an undistinguishable feature appeared in her eyes, gleaming for just seconds - then it disappeared.

Marco barely noticed, bouncing from his seat excitedly. "She's still alive?" Then he sank back down, remembering Star's bloody palms and her ripped stomach. "They forced them out of her." His eyes suddenly darkened again with sadness.

"I'm sorry for your loss. Although… it would've been a boy." She seemed sadder now, bowing her head.

"A king." Marco's tone was just as saddened.

**Mewni Palace, Mewni**

"Valence, the Conqueror. I quite like the title."

Valence sat in the solar, warm afternoon just on the balcony of Mewni's palace, surrounded by her guards and servants, with her hands folded on her lap. She gestured to a servant, who disappeared into the castle.

Seconds later, they appeared with wine and even poured a glass for her - as she sipped at the wine they handed to her, her eyes flitted about the balcony, before coming to a halt at the people of Mewni standing below her.

Below her. Something about that gave her a sense of power that just rushed through her - and for a brief minute, she wondered if Star and Marco ever stood together on the balcony, and got the same feeling racing through them.

When she stopped thinking, her gaze suddenly caught on Cecillion, her chief adviser.

"Send my servants away. I wish to speak with Cecillion in private." Valence stated, and watched as the crowd of servants dispersed and milled around her castle - she could hear faint murmurs as they made their way back into the castle.

"Cecillion, isn't it just wonderful? Look at the people below, like gnats, ants I could squash at any time." Valence smiled at him briefly, before taking another drag at her glass of wine, waiting for him to speak.

"Indeed it is, M'lady." He finally responded, twiddling his thumbs as he glanced at the people of Mewni discreetly, before turning back to her.

"And Star. Was her wedding dress destroyed, hmm?"

"Star is a princess from Bodos." Cecillion replied quietly, recalling exactly what his instructions had been to say.

"Bodos is plagued by witches and warlocks," Valence began, thinking to herself for a minute - she had to stop keeping everything to herself, she tried to remind herself, "like Mewni."

"Indeed, Your Grace. How exactly do you intend to rid Mewni of all its magic?"

"May be useful for me - I want…" Valence sipped at her wine again, drowning out the rest of her statement, as Cecillion crossed his arms and patiently waited.

"Nothing. I don't think I want anything just yet."

"Well, Your Grace, marriage proposals are being sent to you." Cecillion began, bending over as his stance changed.

"From which lands? If I want a strong army, I need more than my elite Masked Men." Valence answers, folding her arms irritably already.

"Pyros, Vita and Borne. Each lands with rather strong armies."

"I actually have a rather… malicious, I suppose," Valence began, taking a second drag at her wine, as she tried to avoid the subject of marriage, "intent for Bodos. To invade."

"Invade, Your Grace?" Cecillion was babbling anxiously by this point, conscious of Marco's living state. "Bodos is the land of spies, Your Grace. They are of no use in combat." He was trying to get back on track of the marriage subject.

Valence rolls her eyes. "And so? They collect and keep secrets. I can use those to invade other places. Such a basic concept." She spoke, her voice dripping from sarcasm - before placing her wine onto the small table.

"We can discuss this in a council meeting."

"Yes, Your Grace." Cecillion seemed to beam from excitement. As he was sure they would also disagree with Valence. _She is not a skilled ruler, but a skilled warrior._ Cecillion noted to himself, before nodding.

"At what time?"

"Seven o' clock, in the Tower Hill."

**.**

**.**

**St Olga's, Freelands, ?**

"Thank you, girls." Helena's voice was above the sound of the girls murmuring amongst themselves in their small groups - as she scanned each group, she noted that Star was missing, absent from the actual room.

"Olga?" She asks curiously, seeing as Olga was automatically approaching.

"Yes?"

"Where's Star Butterfly?"

As soon as she spoke, Olga's eyes lit up in surprise - as she remembered leaving Star in her bedroom for around two hours. "Well… I left her in disgrace, in her bedroom." Olga responds unsurely, thinking to herself about the lengths of punishment.

Star was eating into her lesson times with this punishment. _Perhaps something else will have to be done,_ Olga thought to herself.

She taps a pencil on the desk, and successfully captures all the attention of the class for a few minutes. Helena guided Adeline over to her desk, next to Giselle.

Everyone began to talk again quietly, and Olga was furious with the little whispers sounding throughout the room.

Olga cleared her throat and slammed some books onto the desk, effectively killing all the noise in the room - drowning it out with the books. Some students jumped and some students didn't say a word, facing the front immediately.

"Tiara size." She begins - and a few pictures appear on her presentation. She continues speaking to the class, as Helena subtly slips out of the door to find Star. Olga continued to indicate how to find the perfect tiara size.

"It's not too hard an equation. Like area, it involves base times height." She began.

**.**

**.**

Helena and Star were both rather absent. Star barely seemed conscious of her, as she was too busy peering into the Freelands, and of course, the weird darkened sky above St. Olga's. Something she didn't understand.

"Why is the sky black?" She suddenly asks, curiosity taking her over.

Helena's head snapped up and her hands fell out of the folded pile they were in her lap - she messed with her skirts and cleared her throat. "Black? The sky is blue in the Freelands, Star."

"No." Star disagreed and pointed to the black, ominous clouds looming over the building - it was rather odd. The sky had been burnt to ashes, yet the surrounding clouds contrasted it, white and fluffy.

"It was Pyros. They used their dragons to burn the sky of this building."

"And so you built St. Olga's. So that it looked…"

"Foreboding." Helena completed her sentence awkwardly. "But… of course, it's not as… uh… intimidating."

Star wordlessly nodded, and climbed off her bed, suddenly bored out of her mind - she began twiddling her thumbs, only to be stopped by a stern look from Helena - who proceeded to shake her head.

"Disgrace is boring." Star accidentally blurted out.

"Twiddling your thumbs doesn't improve anything."

Star had no answer to that - instead, she dropped to the ground and began taking some of her school books from underneath her bed - Helena, surprised by her need to study, made a mental note of this.

_She's right, twiddling my thumbs isn't helping. _Star quietly thought, reaching for her wand. Then she pulled her wand out of her belt.

She began reading up on spells, tapping her wand with her index finger, her eyes narrowing to focus on the words in the book. Helena disappeared from her view as she became more fascinated by the spells of the book.

Then, Helena took her leave and nodded, locking the door behind her. Star Butterfly was strange, for sure - under the guise of a princess, she proved herself to be lacking the qualities of one, yet… her mind flashed back to the image of Star reading. Studying - Star studying.

And Star's voice could still be heard from the inside of the room, even overpowering the slight click of the door as Helena stood outside, waiting patiently for Star to eventually stop. Time on the clock disappeared slowly, as Helena eventually slunk away.

But Star continued to repeat her spell like a mantra.

**.**

**.  
Mewni Town Centre, Mewni**

The CBD was in full swing - everyone bustled out of their houses and excitedly walked around the town - the shouts of life were drowned out by the crying out of babies and street sellers. Men and women paraded their children about the town.

One man was selling turnips, and the man next to him was selling some tulips, whereas three women were selling beautiful laces in several colours. Valence, flanked by her guards, navigated through this chaos.

As did Ludo. He was sure she had the wand, as he had heard of Mewni's capture and Star's death. He hissed angrily as he saw Valence's guards, but was relieved at the next thing he saw. Eventually, Valence stopped in front of a large tower.

Ludo dashed over to the man selling tulips, and snatched a handful - before he could call out in protest, Ludo shoved a few coins into his hands and chased after Valence, who was beginning to unlock the tower.

Her guards were before her - but this didn't interest him at all. He gestured to one of his minions, who proceeded to shapeshift into the form of Cecillion - he took his stance and gait, making his way over to the tower.

Valence's face was sharp with irritation as she saw her adviser was late - but she said absolutely nothing - the rage in her eyes dissipated immediately, as she was in the presence of the council members.

Seething inside, she furiously scraped back her chair, sending an unholy sound out. 'Cecillion' barely took any notice, and sat opposite her. Then he joined his arms together through his sleeves, and waited for the meeting to begin.

Ludo, meanwhile, outside the tower, turned back, and followed by his minions, produced a pair of dimensional scissors. Nobody reacted to him snipping the air and climbing through a portal - as everyone was much too busy in the town centre.

Eventually arriving in Ludo's dungeons, after a long hike through the dimensions, Ludo and his minions stopped in front of a cell, where Cecillion sat peacefully. His eyes were calmer than his stance that appeared controlled and straight.

He spotted them from the corner of his eye and said nothing - slightly horrified by Ludo's height and how he could even control his minions… that towered over at him, double his height. Unless…

The thought was ludicrous. Cecillion cleared his throat. "Why exactly was I imprisoned?"

Ludo suddenly bares his teeth. "We'll set you free under one condition." His tone was blunt and demanding.

Cecillion raises an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

"I want the throne of Mewni."

"I don't plan to slay Her Grace. Her Masked Men are also loyal. You'd struggle to bribe them."

Ludo laughed, his laugh a cruel cackle in the otherwise silent dungeon - his minions began to join him, only to stifle their laughter as soon as he stopped.

"Then don't. We want simple things, y'know. I want you to convince her…"

"Convince her what?" Cecillion tried to conceal his growing impatience.

"To give me her hand in marriage."

**Thank you very much for your reviews. Hopefully, there wasn't too big a gap between the updates - if you have any ideas, suggest them in reviews. Sorry that this chapter was very... very long.**


	6. CECILLION & STAR : Forceful Truth

**Thank you for reading my previous chapters. I've got something important to say this time:**

**I have exams in a few weeks, so unfortunately, I have to take time off this story to revise. However, the minute my results come in, I'll get back to updating this. I didn't want to leave you all without an update for around a month or two, so I chose to finish off a sixth chapter.**

**Ludo's Dungeon**

The smell and appearance of the dungeon were the most noticeable thing for Cecillion, who was used to the silks, furs and velvet flooring, and the sweetmeats or amazing aromas wafting from the kitchen of the palace. Instead, bizarrely, there was nothing for him. He glanced around, wondering if Ludo was listening.

Then he stretched out and tried not to vomit or scream, as he heard a crunching sound, and managed to peer out of the cell. There was a sinking feeling in his chest, as he heard slobbering, and briefly caught a glimpse of someone nibbling bones.

They feed them nothing. It suddenly occurred to him he was going to starve to death if Ludo didn't get Valence's hand in marriage. He exhaled, and yelled out, startling the other person in the opposite cell.

They jumped and dropped the bones, only to duck down and continue eating at the… probably… dead person.

"I'LL LET YOU MARRY HER!" Cecillion screams.

And Ludo appears swiftly with his minions behind him. They tower over him, gripping their axes, maces… all their weapons that could rip him to shreds in seconds. He swallows the sour taste in his mouth and sighs depressively.

"You can marry her if I'm released."

Ludo rolls his eyes and sneers, his lips twisting into an unnatural shape for a few seconds. His sneer was hideous.

"You expect me to believe _that_?" He laughs, and his minions instantly join in, their weapons clinking and banging together.

Cecillion licked his lips anxiously and cast his gaze to the floor, unsure where to look. Ludo cleared his throat and repeated his question more severely.

There was an awkward pause, where nobody quite knew what to say. Then Cecillion inhaled deeply and finally responded. "If you don't believe me, then you don't get her hand in marriage." He shrugs, his eyes fixed onto the axe one of the minions were gripping.

"I don't believe you." Ludo nods at his minions, whose weapons are suddenly shoved in front of his face. "Peppers." Ludo orders, watching as one of his minions disappears upstairs, into his castle to fetch them.

"I _can_ get you her hand in marriage." Cecillion winces, feeling and seeing a blade inches from his throat. His confidence was waning by this point. But the minions didn't bother backing down.

One of them returned, holding peppers in one hand. Ludo nodded again, and he opened the gates - but Cecillion didn't spring free as the blade was detached from his neck. He focussed on the peppers curiously.

"Do it." Ludo confirmed it with the hesitant minion, who was closing in on Cecillion. "And you," he began, gesturing to another minion, "fetch something from under the sink."

"This-" Cecillion began, but the rest of his sentence was drowned out by his screams of agony. The peppers were being rubbed in his eyes, and a searing pain shot through them, proceeding to sting him.

"Stop!" He tries to command them, do anything to save his eyes, but the minion continues rubbing them in and he winces, his winces turning to low moans. By this point, he just felt dull pain in his eyes, and that the peppers were itchy.

The itchiness caused him more pain - that washed over him, and blood had yet to be flowing from his eyes. He could barely feel them, but felt some sort of tingling sensation that felt like small bombs had exploded on his eyes.

They were burning from the pain of the peppers - and when Ludo held up a hand, signalling for the minion to stop, Cecillion exhaled deeply, his eyes still stinging.

The minion backed away, and the open cell allowed the other minion to enter, with an unknown substance. His eye twitched, fragments of the pepper still in it, so he could barely see the substance, his vision cloudy.

He screamed louder when the liquid was splashed into his eyes - it created a burning sensation, and then irritation, which quickly turned back to burning. They were relentless, splashing more into his eyes.

His sight was impaired further, and he hissed in pain, trying to recoil, but the minion simply grabbed his head and forced more of it into his eyes. Cecillion tried to accept it, but shuffled and cried out in his seat.

Ludo cackled harder, as Cecillion squirmed again and a cold mixture found its way into his eyes. At first, he sighed from the relief of it, only to scream as soon as it made its impact. The pain was abstract, but still clearly present in his eyes.

The two minions stood by him and paused for a second. His eyes were much too damaged for him to even see what they were doing. They dipped a pepper into the unknown liquid, and then the minion holding the coated pepper rubbed it into his eyes.

Burning and dull pain occurred at once for Cecillion, who rocked violently in his chair, even tumbling out of his chair and onto the ground. Mercilessly, they grabbed him by the arms and pulled him back onto his feet.

Cecillion's eyes twitched uncontrollably, the minions gripping peppers and holding it above his eyes barely appearing in his view.

Then they allowed it to drip into his eyes, slowly. He winced with each drip, and looked up, but realised how irregular the drips were - and started to feel hysterical. Another drip came, another brief burn.

Each time he thought they'd stop, they continued, until blood seeped from his eyes, staining his clothes and pooling out on the floor.

"That's enough." Ludo announced, slinking away from the blood stained bars of the dungeon cell. The minions retreated, standing outside the now closed doors of the cell. Cecillion tried to hold their gaze, but his view was fuzzy.

However, one of the minions had cold green eyes he simply couldn't miss - he looked with his damaged eyes at them, and began to stare them down - they ducked away, keeping their eyes trained on the floor - anywhere _but_ Cecillion.

"We ask again." Ludo began, a look of frustration on his face. "Give me her hand in marriage."

"I already told you," Cecillion wept, "I would."

"I know you will."

"Then why keep me?" _You sadistic…_

"Because you're not the one doing it- one of my helpers are. And I can't risk you telling her _not_ to marry me."

"I'd convince her to marry you. I wouldn't tell her not to… because your… soldiers would make a good-"

"Army? I don't want to give her _my_ army," Ludo chuckled to himself, "but rather, I want the wand."

Cecillion pretended to know what he was talking about, and then it occurred to him - the wand they couldn't rip from Star's cold, and presumably dead hands. Even when Valence had destroyed a table at a feast to celebrate her success, as soon as she'd found out, it made no difference.

That wand couldn't be taken off her.

Now that he pondered it, he realised it was a true threat. If Star…

"The wand. I know where it is, in Mewni. I would show you if you release me." He interrupts his negative thoughts.

There was no future for him if Star returned to Mewni and reclaimed it - Valence and her subjects would be exiled if she showed mercy, or they'd be killed. He carefully turned it over in his mind, and decided that Ludo may be a good ally to protect himself with.

Ludo was sure he was much too intelligent for Cecillion anyway, he couldn't help but think to himself, irritably.

"I can ask Valence myself when I marry her." He scowled.

"She tells nobody, except me. Her trusted adviser." Extra emphasis was applied to the word 'trusted.' His heart sank as he realised how unrecognisable he'd probably be, with blood pooling from his eyes.

"I suppose more torture is lined up for you, then, Cecillion."

**.**

**.**

**St. Olga's, Freelands, ?**

Giselle wouldn't even look at her. Each time Star tried to approach her, she'd whisper _Conquay_ and the fire creatures jumped out at her, violently. One of them had hit her, and left a burn mark on her - she wanted to ask what the command meant, what tongue she spoke.

The other girls were warmer, mostly interested in her exile. Calliope gestured for her to sit with her at lunch, and Star gloomily watched Giselle sit by herself, surrounded by her fire figures. She could barely keep up with the conversation.

"What happened at your wedding?" Calliope's eyes glinted with interest, and Star sighed, ready to recount the story again.

"I think they killed my family." The words left a bitter taste in her mouth. _I need your armies to take back my throne but you won't talk to me. Your fire creatures could save-_

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted. "And?" Calliope suggested that she should continue, whilst Ophelia and Adeline quietly said she could stop if she didn't want to talk about it.

Star spooned more food into her mouth and then swallowed. A newfound confidence appeared in her, and she felt slightly more at ease with herself. "We were about to eat, when the doors opened… and then _she_ came with some men. They were all wearing masks."

Everyone was silent at her table, spellbound by her words.

"The woman said something, then all the guests disappeared and her men in masks sat in the stands. After Marco invited them to eat, she said that they weren't hungry and clicked her fingers. They ran straight into the main section of the wedding and I…"

She was exhaling deeply, unsure if she wanted to continue. The sounds of her helpless panting seemed to fall on deaf ears, except Ophelia's, who sat looking strangely anxious. Star took in another spoonful of food and choked for a few seconds.

Then she gulped and coughed, wiping tears from her eyes. "I tried to fight them off, but one of them tackled me and dragged me to the woman. He took out a dagger and I tried to scream, so Marco could come and save me- but the other men wouldn't let him. They just blocked him."

_I don't know if he's alive. _Star quietly thought to herself. The girls sat at the table were all fascinated by this point.

"I was pregnant. They..." She bit her lip, unsure if she could continue.

"They what?" Calliope blurted out suddenly.

"The one with the dagger stabbed me in the stomach… lots of times. Until I could barely see straight - and then one of them hit me on the head, and I… can't remember anything after that."

A large silence clouded over the girls' table - and all of them couldn't keep their eyes off her, until Adeline eventually broke the gloomy atmosphere tearfully.

"Oh, Star…" Her eyes shone with sadness - as if she had been crying during the story- and Star suddenly felt like Adeline had been at her wedding, or had at least, seen her scream in agony over her lost child. Star glued her eyes to the food on her plate, but felt tears drip into the food.

Adeline's tearful expression shifted to that of pity, and back to sadness, before she reached under the table, and gave Star's hand a squeeze. Calliope huffed and Ophelia quietly studied a book, elbows propped up on the table, and pretending not to listen.

"Sorry." Calliope muttered sheepishly.

"I-It's fine." Star quickly replies. She felt like she was drifting into paradise with the gentle squeeze of Adeline's hand. "It's not, Star." Adeline suddenly spoke up, her eyes narrowing subtly at Calliope.

"Why isn't it…?"

"Because that was cold blooded murder."

Star thought over this, turning her words over in her mind, and an idea quickly lit up inside her. Adeline was on her side, surely, so she just needed to convince her to take back Mewni with her.

Calliope nods in agreement with Adeline, whilst Ophelia turns a page wordlessly.

They were all on her side.

"In true cold blood," begins Star, "and I had a husband…" She trails off, her eyes glowing with an unknown trait.

"And they killed him?" Ophelia suddenly looks up, curious.

"I…" Star looks at them for a brief moment, then exhales deeply, and sees Giselle's glare slip off her face, replaced with uncertainty.

"I don't know." She admits, and can practically feel Giselle standing up, her gaze apologetic - slowly approaching her. Giselle eventually reaches her, and looks completely out of place with the other girls.

"Sorry." Her tone doesn't seem genuine, but her eyes seem to say enough for her, before she whirls on her heel and speeds out of the room, much to the confusion of the others.

Star's beaming, all of a sudden. "What was that?" Asks Calliope, who still seems to waiting for Giselle to come back and explain.

"I don't know." Star lies. "I really don't know."

**.**

.

**Ludo's Dungeon**

Ludo exhales, feeling slightly sickened by Cecillion's reddened and bleeding eyes, but also looks on with a small amount of guilty pleasure on his face. The blood trickled down his eyes and onto his white clothes, making Ludo twitch and ebb.

"What were her plans for Bodos?" He suddenly asks, gesturing for his minions to hold their weapons tighter in a more threatening fashion.

"Her… plans? How do you…?" Cecillion blushes and covers his mouth, embarrassed that he'd given so much of a clue away as to how flustered he was.

"You were muttering to yourself about it. Now, tell us, or…"

Cecillion places a hand over his bleeding eye, and it comes away sticky with a red liquid. "I want something to cover my eyes with first."

"You'll have nothing of the sort." Ludo snaps, sauntering up to the cage and spitting between the bars. It doesn't land anywhere near Cecillion, who cowers away from it.

The minions try their best to drag their master away, but his hands latch onto the bars and despite their efforts, he's stuck in place.

"I'll have nothing of the sort?" Questions Cecillion, who smirks in an almost malicious way. "Then you'll have nothing of the sort in Valence's plans for Bodos." He finishes, seeming smug and pleased with himself.

"Rub more bleach into his eyes. And sand, rub some of that in, too." Ludo speaks in a careless, relaxed tone.

Something sinks in Cecillion's chest, who quickly exhales. "Fine. She didn't say much, but said that she had plans for Bodos, to invade Bodos." He quickly gabbles, looking away, aware he'd just betrayed his queen.

"And why would she do such a thing?" Ludo seems interested now, leaning closer towards the bars. His minions have been dispatched to get the bleach and sand, but were slowly moving. He barks at them to stop, and glances back at Cecillion.

They stop and wait, curious for Cecillion's answer.

"Bodos is the land of spies - she said that if she invades and takes their secrets, she can invade other places."

"I'd be marrying an idiot." Ludo murmurs to himself, but Cecillion hears.

"Well… she's not so great a politician. She wasn't aware of Bodos having alliances, and I'm sure you aren't, either?"

Ludo cackles. "Of course I am. I lived in Bodos, once-"

He's about to continue, when the door smashes and falls off its hinges. Men stream down from the door and one grabs Ludo, another holding the fake Cecillion in one arm. Cecillion, his eyes still dripping with blood, can only see fuzzy shapes.

"You're under arrest…" a voice begins to speak, but it trails off, and Cecillion sees a familiar red substance splatter the floor.

Without being able to see it, he knows that the Mewni army are raiding Ludo's dungeon to find him - and that their raid has quickly turned to a bloodbath.


	7. CECILLION & LUDO : CONQUERING FATE

**I have no idea why I updated. Let's just say, I had an idea… and it went from there. Anyway, 12 reviewers, thank you a lot! That's literally double the amount of chapters I have. As for my devoted readers, thank you just as much. It's wonderful to know my story is getting more popular. Also, this chapter is incredibly long because I couldn't bear to split it up.**

**Sorry for this seriously long author's note, and enjoy this chapter:**

**Ludo's Lair**

Without being able to see it, Cecillion knows the Mewni army are raiding Ludo's dungeon to find him - and that their raid has quickly turned to a bloodbath.

He screams, and they all suddenly focus on the blood still stickily stuck to his clothes, and dripping out of the empty socket. Distracted, one of the minions strikes an army member over the head, and he falls down with a dull thud.

Another minion sprints, and butts heads with one of the army members. Cecillion watches, his eyes still stinging slightly as they send one of their limbs out and grip the man around the neck. He squeezes, tightly, until finally letting go.

The man drops to the floor, practically begging for breath as the person kicks him over and over. Once he collapses onto the floor on his front, his eyes stare at Cecillion lifelessly, but he still twitches and shudders under the minion's grasp.

He brings him back up again, and the man's head is lolling uncontrollably. He keeps his hands around his neck and begins to choke him to death, despite the man squirming in his grasp and kicking in a desperate fight for air. His struggling does him no good, as he dies.

The fighting continues, but one of the men arrives in front of Cecillion, who can only see his basic outline. Curling up into a ball, he sees something outstretch to him and grabs the hand - discovering that he hasn't been betrayed.

Still, they attempt to grab Ludo, who ducks and dodges their extended arms. One of them strikes Buff Frog on the shoulder, and he hits the ground with a clatter. Other minions dash for the exit, and some of them remain as they are, continuing to resist the army.

A minion that looks like a pig leaps at another army member, and the two descend out through the doors. Eventually, the man returns with the body of the pig in his arms. When he returns, he appears to be cooing and cradling the body.

It fails to respond, of course.

The men, having grabbed Ludo, retreat and disappear, leaving the dead army member on the ground with a caved in skull. And the journey back to Mewni is agonising for Cecillion, who they quietly whisper will "Be absolutely fine, you'll get treatment once we get to Mewni."

He doesn't believe them, of course.

All he knows is that Ludo never gives up.

**.**

**.**

**Bodos, Bodos Town**

"A riot… would throw Bodos into chaos - and surely, nothing thrives in chaos." Marco says, his tone matter-of fact. Gilly rolls her eyes and then nods, before carefully responding with her own opinion.

"Chaos can be a stepping stone for you - if you know how to act within it. Perhaps if you're lacking in skill, we could do things the old fashioned way, and kill the royals."

"And the point of that would be what? That would make me just as bad as Valence."

Gilly smirked, and rested a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head at him. How had she even thought of manipulating him? He was much too honest for her liking.

Marco glanced down at the hand on his shoulder and met her eyes with a stony glare.

"It would not. You're not betraying anyone. Valence betrayed Bodos - she said _they_ would get Mewni, but proceeded to take it off them."

"If I kill the royals, they do not get Bodos or Mewni."

"They do not deserve either."

"The ends justify the means," Marco says, sighing to himself deeply.

"Indeed they do, Marco."

"How do you do it, then?" He asks, straightening up - his gaze is no longer on the crystal clear water, or the _riot water_ as Gilly had called it. Her way of thinking didn't suit his in any fashion, but he wasn't sure he wanted to let go of such a valuable witch.

"Blood, and water." She taps the brick of the well, and he watches as a pouch falls from it. She smiles openly at him, before filling the pouch with the water of Bodos - then she grabs Marco and scrapes his hand on the brick wall.

He hisses in pain as a searing pain travels through his fingers, and his fingers grow limp as she carefully allows the red flow to drip into the pouch. It mixes into the water, which seems to etch the shape of a face.

Gilly seems pleased by the result, and picking up a knife from her belt, she slices at Marco's finger. More blood drips into the pouch, and the water begins to stain red with Marco's pain. This time, he stays still and allows her to do as she pleases.

"Thank you, Marco."

She whispers something in her native tongue, and the water falls out of the pouch. It forms no shape, just a puddle on the ground, and she puts away the pouch, much to the disappointment of Marco. He had just given up _blood_ for that.

"What happens next?"

"Be patient."

The puddle is still trickling, and Gilly suddenly stands up and follows it. Marco is too stunned to speak as he leaps to his feet and dashes after her. She doesn't acknowledge him panting and running behind her, still watching the puddle move.

_"Erha." _She whispers to the water, which speeds up dramatically, and she continues walking after it - Marco tries to speak, but finds that he's literally tongue tied. He doesn't say a word, and just continues following her, his faith renewed.

The water finally stops, in front of the palace - and Gilly smiles at the puddle, at the ground, which he can't help but perceive as strange. They both blink down at the water and blood, and she ducks down onto the floor.

"Teleport with me," she commands as she rolls into the puddle. Gilly disappears in a burst of light, and Marco stares down into the puddle that is still slowly dragging itself inside the palace, trickling under the guard's feet.

Until it finally stops, and he can hear her whispering to him from the water. With each breath she draws, the water ripples and sends out rings that neatly flow from the centre, growing in size. He watches in interest, and considers her words.

He knows she isn't lying, and falls onto his back into the puddle. There's a tingling feeling that lingers in his arms and legs, and he discovers his paralysis. Nonetheless, he relaxes and slackens his body until his eyes shut, beginning to pretend to sleep.

The inside of the castle is mostly blue, he can see, and he feels the ripple of water, hearing Gilly's little whispers in his ear. The water is still trickling, and he still feels the floating sensation until it pools at the wall.

Then it goes through it, and Marco experiences the bizarre concept of limbo - when they're between the walls, for no more than ten seconds, he sees a kaleidoscope of clashing colours before his eyes, and then becomes aware he's in a bedroom.

The water rises up into a crinkled figure, with wrinkles and lines all over it. It has no eyes, no face that he can see and walks without feet in a slow, yet deliberate way. The king is drinking some form of wine, and the queen is within the bathroom.

Gilly suddenly whispers something else, and they emerge from the water, dripping wet. She shakes, but Marco is still absorbed in the water and amazed by the magic. He looks up to peer at the king still drinking hungrily, as Gilly points to the water.

It nods its crinkled head at her, and shrinks in size. He watches it twirl and spin, before crawling up the bed and into the goblet of the king. All it's doing is hanging out, but the king is already choking and grunting for breath.

Rattling like an old car, he continues fighting for air, for breath, but his breath slams back into his chest and weakens him. His face goes purple from effort, and the queen is still in the bathroom. Gilly's eyes go malicious for a brief moment, and she starts laughing at the death.

Her laugh is light and tinkering, but the thing she's laughing at horrifies Marco, who watches the king kick and try to scream, the water slipping from the goblet. The king's fingers go stiff and outstretched, blood beginning to spill from his eyes.

Blood leaking from his eyes, it makes it to his nose and droplets of blood stain his tunic. She's hysterical now, rolling on the floor as Marco tries to run over to the water to stop it - it was too horrific a death for him to watch.

Despite his efforts, the water makes its impact and the king's eyes swell to the size of eggs. He claws at his throat, trying his best to free the water from it, but all he does is leave bloody welled up gashes on his body.

The king dies in bed, with the goblet tipping over and the water-blood mixture spilling out of it. Marco blinks, to make sure the image before him is real, and screams at Gilly, who places a finger to his lips before he can shriek louder.

"Marco. Our invisibility does not last forever. Be silent." She's wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, before turning back to look at the water figure standing, towering over her. They seemed to exchange some sort of gaze, although the water figure lacks eyes.

_"Ene._" She tells the object, resting a hand on the rounded part of it - likely the head, Marco tells himself. With a flash of light, the water disappears and seconds later, Gilly opens up her pouch to reveal where she was storing it.

"And the queen…?"

"She shan't swear her fealty to you. So I must…"

Gilly slinks off, walking over to the bathroom and taps herself three times. Marco watches the colour that once declined return, and she smirks at him briefly, her eyes twinkling in delight. The door opens and the queen doesn't say a word to Gilly.

Marco floats over to the door, and decides to float through it. He goes through the limbo again, before sitting on the ground and watching the next events unfold. Gilly holds the queen by the wrist, and is holding what looks like bleach.

_She couldn't,_ Marco keeps quietly telling himself, aware neither of them can hear him. But as Gilly forces the queen's mouth open and pours the bleach down it, he realises how dangerous she could truly be. He wants to float away, but knows Gilly is conscious of his presence.

Instead, he quietly waits for her to hold the queen like a baby feeding on a bottle, and continue ramming the bottle down her throat. Gilly shakes the bottle, and finds she hasn't drunk all of it. Although the queen is fighting with Gilly, Gilly simply doesn't care.

She claws and scratches at her, but her skin must be some metal encasing - the little scratches disappear within seconds of appearance. The queen eventually loses strength and glances up at Gilly, her eyes boggling, on the verge of death.

She shakes the bottle of bleach once more, and decides it's enough. Since the queen is still half alive, Gilly splashes the bleach into her eyes, effectively blinding her for a few moments. She's tittering only slightly now, seeing that her eyes have glazed over.

She holds the queen in a tight grip and puts the bottle back into her mouth, rocking the slowly dying woman in a calm and tranquil way. Marco moves back slightly, but the invisibility wears off, and the queen's eyes fix onto his.

Then she becomes stiff in Gilly's arms, and she pulls out the same knife from her belt she used to slash Marco. She slices her throat, and he watches the knife swipe across her throat.

Blood seeps out of the site of injury, and the queen's lifeless body stays limp. Once she finishes with her, collecting some of the blood, Gilly carelessly throws her body onto the floor and looks over at Marco, who has curled up slightly.

"Gruesome, it seems - but these were above mortality - it takes plenty to kill those who extend their lives and durability with magic." She explains, but Marco still doesn't understand why it's fully justified.

"Anyway, I suppose you are the new king of Bodos, then."

"What do we do with the bodies?" He suddenly asks, and Gilly doesn't smile for once.

"Submerge them in water, behead them. Whatever you wish to do with them, Your Grace."

The use of the title makes Marco feel a strange feeling in his chest - and identifies it after a few moments as pride. And for good reason - he'd just conquered a kingdom with an effective army, without killing any innocent civilians.

Marco's grin seems venomous for a moment or two, before it melts into a considerate nod.

"I don't want to irritate my new people, so we'll treat the deceased with respect."

Gilly smiles fully, and her eyes even light up with the smile. "

I like you, Marco. You think like a king - and you _are_ the rightful king."

**.**

**.**

**Mewni, Mewni Palace**

"Sir Richard did die, though. But we apprehended Ludo, who is a traitor to the crown and recovered Cecillion, your trusted adviser, Your Grace." One of the men looks up and keeps his gaze cold and emotionless.

"Indeed. I have discussed the penalty for… Ludo… with the Council - and the only suitable punishment, they say…"

She lingers there, still sipping at a small goblet of wine, feeling a small burst of pleasure from the idea of Ludo quaking. Although he chooses not to show it, he's clearly afraid and trembling inside - because he truly has lost the battle.

"I think you all know what I will be saying - execution, they say, a swift and clean beheading - within the hour of today." Valence explains, leaning slightly in the throne as she gestures for a servant to attend to her. The servant takes the goblet and briskly moves out of the room.

The man nods in agreement.

"I cannot show mercy to traitors," she adds callously, "do forgive me, Ludo." Ludo is speechless as he's led away to the dungeons like a common criminal - he would be beheaded for his sins, something he'd never expected to happen.

And he never had gotten the throne of Mewni. Valence smirked as they led him away, but held up a hand to stop them for no longer than a minute. "Ah yes, and for the execution, be sure to get the fine executioner from Vita."

"Perhaps their land isn't so worthless to me after all." She waves them away, and consults Ludo's expression once more for fear or sadness.

It was only slightly annoying for her to know that neither of those expressions were present in him - all she could see in his cleverly fitted mask was disappointment. As she shifts on the throne again, she wonders if she'll see the same expression when his head falls under the axe.

Perhaps.

**.**

**.**

Twist was a new minion of Ludo's, and had been venturing through Mewni, having heard of Cecillion's capture. So when he stopped to see Her Grace also journeying through Mewni, the breath caught in his throat. Ludo was nowhere to be seen.

Twist continued moving, stopping behind the large crowd that had gathered for some form of public entertainment. He didn't expect much, before pushing through the people who had protested to get to the front. Maybe she was being executed.

Then he heard her voice ring out, and a shudder juddered through the entire crowd. He blinks once, then twice, and then thrice. Having cleared his vision, he realises that the criminal in shackles is none other than Ludo.

Cecillion calmly stands by Her Grace with a mask of polite interest, with no intent to intervene the cruel injustice befalling Ludo. She smiles at the crowd, and only then does Twist realise how beautiful she is.

Her eyes are a deep, swirling green, and the hideous scar that once dusted her face that the men in the taverns japed about is nowhere to be seen. The brown locks of hair on her head fall in beautiful cascading curls.

Twist is almost hypnotised by it, before he snaps back and hears her voice address the crowd again.

"I firstly intended to have him stripped of his honour and titles, to join my service as a servant. But then his plot to assassinate me was unveiled, and alas, I must sentence him to death."

"May he find peace in death, and may Mewni be resistant to treason for the time of my reign," Valence adds, glancing over at the executioner who poises with his axe, prepared.

"I apologise, Sir Trent, for holding your time up with such a speech. I request only one more thing of you, apart from justice."

The crowd draws its breath in, waiting for Valence to finally announce it.

"Sir Trent, serve me his head."


End file.
